A refrigerating-cycle is used for an air-conditioning apparatus. Many proposals have been made, according to which a cooling operation is carried out, although it may be a limited operation, even when an operation of the refrigerating cycle is stopped. For example, in case of the air-conditioning apparatus for a vehicle, the refrigerating cycle is operated by an engine for driving the vehicle. Therefore, when the engine operation is temporarily stopped during the vehicle is brought to a stop, the operation of the refrigerating cycle is likewise stopped. According to one of ideas, a cool-storage type heat exchanger, in which a cooling-storage device is attached to the heat exchanger, is used in the refrigerating cycle in order to provide the cooling operation even during the temporary stop of the vehicle (that is, during the temporary engine stop).
For example, the following prior arts (patent literatures) are known in the art:
(1) Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-184071
(2) Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-274165
(3) Japanese Patent Publication (PCT) No. 2006-503253
(4) Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-225536
(5) Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-107035
According to disclosures of the above patent literatures (1) and (2), refrigerant tubes are formed at one side of a cooling-storage device and fins for heat exchanging with air are formed at the other side thereof. According to the above structure, the cooling-storage device is cooled down only from one side thereof. Therefore, there is concern that the cooling-storage device may not be sufficiently cooled down. On the other hand, the air is directly heat exchanged with the cooling-storage device at the other side thereof. When the air having high temperature comes in contact with the cooling-storage device, the stored cooling-energy is quickly carried away. As above, it is difficult in the prior arts to efficiently cool down the cooling-storage device and to stably radiate the stored cooling-energy.
According to disclosures of the above patent literatures (3) and (4), a cooling-storage device is provided at a part of a heat exchanger. The stored cooling-energy moves to fins through refrigerant tubes along longitudinal direction of the refrigerant tubes. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a high cooling capability. Furthermore, since a cooling-storage material and a fin are arranged between neighboring refrigerant tubes, a high productivity may not be achieved.
According to the above patent literature (5), cooling-storage elements are provided in place of fins for a heat exchanger. According to such a structure, however, a high productivity may not be likewise achieved, because a plurality of cooling-storage cells is arranged between the refrigerant tubes.